Inevitable
by alwayswriting
Summary: AU fic set after Season 2. Tess did leave, but she did not get pregnant. She and Max did still sleep together. All other events are the same. PLOT: Tess is back, but it's not what you think it is...
1. Starlight, Starbright

STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT  
Max used to wish upon the stars. He had grown up knowing the nursery rhyme, "Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." He believed that the stars would make his wishes come true. He would look out his window at night and spot the brightest star, close his eyes and wish, certain that it would be granted.   
Now Max knew the truth. He knew he was made from the stars and when he looked out his window, he was unsure on where his wishes went.   
It was a hot June night as Max closed up the UFO Center. He could sense it. It was going to rain later. More than that. It was going to pour. Good, he thought. He didn't want to see the stars in the sky tonight, but he couldn't help looking up at the stars. And he couldn't help wishing on one either.  
*  
She was gone, but she was still here. You could see her in Isabel's eyes as she looked at a picture of Alex. You could see her in Liz's frown as she tried to rebuild her relationship with Max again. You could see her in Maria's tears as she picked up Alex's guitar. You could see her in Michael's stare as he tried to recover from her betrayal. You could see her in Kyle's bedroom as he and his father cleaned out her belongings.   
You could see her. 


	2. The Sky is Falling

THE SKY IS FALLING  
Max woke up to the sound of thunder. His eyes drifted to the window, seeing the heavy rainfall. He got out of bed and walked towards the window. He placed his hand on the cool glass. He watched the raindrops race to the bottom. A bright bolt of lightning illuminated the sky for a moment. Max waited to hear the clap of thunder. He heard nothing.  
*  
"Looks like it's going to rain again," Liz said to Max as he sat down at the counter in the Crashdown. "I mean, we got a huge storm last night, you know?"  
Max simply nodded.  
"Are you okay, Max?" Liz asked. She stopped wiping down the counter and gently placed her hand over his. She was trying at least. It was going to take some time, but everything would be like it was…before Tess came to town, before Alex died.  
He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked around the restaurant. "Have you seen Isabel or Michael?"  
"They just walked in," she said.  
Isabel and Michael joined them at the counter. Isabel gave Liz a small smile, but her solemn eyes told another story.   
"Are you coming in today, Michael?" Liz said with a wink.  
He shrugged. "If I feel like it."  
Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder. "I expect you in your apron tonight, Mr. Guerin," Mr. Parker said sternly before going inside the kitchen.  
Michael sighed. "Well, I guess I'm coming in."  
"Don't you have to be at work soon, Max?" Isabel said.  
He checked the clock on the wall and got up from his seat. "Yeah. I'll see you guys later."  
"Wait, Max," Liz said before he could leave.  
He looked back at her.  
"Nevermind," she said softly.  
*  
Brody had left the UFO Center early tonight, leaving it in Max's care. Max sat in the office, filing papers. His thoughts were scattered. One moment he was thinking of Liz, the other of Tess, and then he thought of his math test, and then he wondered how much those guys who dressed up as Mickey Mouse and Goofy at Disneyland got paid, and then it started all over again. He slammed the filing cabinet shut, frustrated that he couldn't concentrated. He left the office and stepped out into the hallway, passing by a storage room. He heard something inside. Max paused outside the door and leaned closer to listen. He heard it again. Something was differently moving in there. He slowly opened the door. At first, he didn't see anything. It was dark and he could make out the outline of some boxes. Then, he saw something. A hand holding a large jar, slamming it on top of his head. 


	3. The Easy Way Out

THE EASY WAY OUT  
Sometimes, Max would dream that he and Liz were happily married. She would always give him that smile that was just for him. She would never be sad, never be angry, or worried about anything because he would keep her happy and safe. Of course, it was all a dream. Nothing more.  
*  
Max felt like he had just woken up from a dream as he opened his eyes. He felt the dry blood on his forehead. He raised his hand to touch the wound when he realized his hands laying in. He stopped struggling when he felt someone watching him.  
"Come out," he said.  
"Who are you?" a woman's voice said from the shadows.  
Max recognized the voice immediately. "Tess?"  
The shadows shifted as she came out of the dark. She was dressed only in a large UFO Center shirt. Her blonde hair was longer and her blue eyes looked fearfully at him. "What did you call me?" she asked.  
"What's going on?" Max said. "Untie me right now."  
She shook her head. "I don't know you. You could be dangerous."  
"I could be dangerous?" he said, shocked hearing it from her.  
"Where am I?" she asked. "Who are you?"   
"What are you saying?" Max said angrily. "Untie me right now."  
"All I know is that it was dark, and then I was wet," Tess said. "It was raining. I was cold and alone. I saw this building and I found an open window so I came in. I was scared." She looked at Max. "I'm scared."  
"You don't know where you are?" Max said slowly. "You don't know who I am?"  
Tess nodded.  
Max used his powers to heat up the rope, causing the fibers to become loose. He freed himself and looked up at Tess, who seemed amazed at what just happened. "Stop it, Tess. I know you're lying."  
"How did you…"  
"I want answers," he said standing up. "Did Kivar send you back? What is it?"  
"Kivar?" She gave him a confused look. "I don't know…"  
Max grabbed her arm. "What are you doing back here? Haven't you caused enough trouble for all of us?"  
Tess winced from the tight hold. "You're hurting me."  
Max cautiously let go of her arm.   
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tess said. "I don't know where I am. I don't know who you are. I don't know who I am. I don't know anything."  
"This is like a mindwarp, right?" he said. "You're going to make me believe you have amnesia."  
"Mindwrap?" Tess said. "I told you I have no idea what you're talking about."  
Max pulled out his set of keys to the UFO Center. "I'm locking you in here. No one is going to see you or know you're here until I figure this out." He went to the door and opened it. "You've already done us enough damage."  
"What?" Tess followed him. "You can't just lock me in here."  
Max stared coldly at her. "Watch me." He shut the door in her face and locked it. 


	4. Dilemma

DILEMMA  
"He's not over her," Liz said to Maria as they cleaned the tables. The Crashdown was finally empty. The two waitresses were anxious to end their working night.  
"What do you mean he's not over her?" Maria said. "What's there to get over?"  
Liz sighed. "They were married, you know? They had a whole lifetime together once. That's kind of hard to get over with."  
"Liz, Max knows what kind of person Tess was," Maria said. "I mean, he basically slept with the enemy. Tess killed Alex and she was going to hand over Max, Michael, and Isabel to get killed too."  
"Then, why is he shutting down on me?" Liz sat down in a booth and frowned. "It's so hard."  
"Give him time," Maria said.   
Liz glanced outside to the UFO Center. "How much time?"  
*  
She heard the key unlocking the door and then it opened. He was back.  
Max walked in the storage room and shut the door behind him. He handed Tess a pair of jeans, sweater, and tennis shoes.   
"What are you doing back here?" she said as she took the clothes from him.   
"I believe you," he said.  
"You do?"  
He nodded. "If you really knew who you were, you would have blasted that door open by now."  
She raised an eyebrow. "I would have what?"  
"Nothing."  
Max turned his head and Tess put on the pair of jeans.  
"Thank you," she said.   
"They're just some old clothes that Isabel…she's my sister," Max said, "She doesn't wear them anymore,"   
"No, I mean, thank you for believing me," Tess said.  
*  
Liz smiled at Sean as she walked outside with Maria. Sean sat in the driver's seat of the car and opened the passenger's door for Maria.   
"See you tomorrow," Maria said as she got in.  
Liz waved at her.  
"Hey, Liz," Sean said.   
She leaned down to his window.   
Sean raised his hand to the collar of her waitress uniform and adjusted it. "There. That's better."  
Maria rolled her eyes. "Sean, can we go now?"  
Liz stepped back and watched the car drive off. She touched her collar and let her fingers linger there for a moment. "Yeah, it is." 


	5. Ask and It Will Be Given to You

ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU  
"I want a new look," Isabel played with the straw in her lemonade. "Maybe a haircut or something."  
Kyle bit into his french fry and shook his head. "Bad idea."  
"It is?" she said.  
"I like your hair long," Kyle said.  
Isabel twirled a piece of her hair around a finger and sighed. "I just feel like I need a change."  
"Isabel, I don't think you hear this enough, but," Kyle looked around the Crashdown before lowering his voice, "you're beautiful just the way you are."  
She smiled. "Thanks, Kyle."  
"Buddha says that one must speak the truth in order to receive the truth," he said smiling back at her.  
*  
Liz walked into the back room and gasped. "You guys need to quit it!"  
Michael and Maria broke away from their embrace and looked down embarrassingly for getting caught making out again.  
"It could my dad next time, okay?" Liz said as she grabbed more napkins. "I mean, can't you guys wait until your shifts are over?" She stormed out the room.  
"What's her problem?" Michael said.  
"Max Evans, of course," Maria said with a smirk.  
"What is it now?" he said leaning against the wall.   
"She thinks Max is still hung up on Tess," she said. "I told her that Tess was no longer a problem. She's gone, right? So Liz has nothing to worry about."  
"Are you sure that's what Liz is worried about?" Michael asked.  
  
  
*  
"Wait, Brody," Max said before Brody could open the storage room. "I don't want you to go in there."  
Brody looked at him confusingly. "Why not?"  
"I was cleaning it out last night," Max said, "And I made a big mess and there are boxes everywhere."  
"I need to get something out," Brody said.  
"Let me get it." Max took out his set of keys. "I rearranged everything so I should know it is. What is it that you need?"  
"There's a box of brochures I put in there," Brody said. "It should be labeled."  
"Got it."  
Brody turned to leave as Max opened the door. Max peeked in to see where Tess was, but there was no sign of her. "Tess?" he said softly. There was no answer. He went inside and looked around. He found her sleeping in a corner with a blanket around her. For a moment, he just watched her sleep. Suddenly, she stirred and opened her eyes.   
"Hey," he said.  
"I need to get out this room," Tess said as she sat up.   
"You can't."  
Tess ran a hand through her hair. "Why? Because you said so? I don't even know who you are to me."  
"You have to trust me," Max said.  
"Trust you?" Tess laughed bitterly. "You aren't even helping me. The only thing I know is that my name is Tess and I'm locked in a storage room."  
"There's a lot more," Max said, "But I don't think you're ready to know everything yet."  
"Everything? You mean my life?"  
"It's complicated, Tess." He kneeled down next to her. "We have to figure out why you came back and how you loss your memory."  
"Why did I leave?" Tess asked.  
"I told you when you're ready, you'll know everything," Max said.  
"You mean when you're ready." Tess's eyes filled with anger. "Why would you prevent me from leaving? From knowing who I am? Is it something I did?"  
"Tess…"  
"I demand you to tell me the truth," she said. "Was I such horrible person that you don't even want me to remember?"  
"Tess…"  
She ignored him and continued. "Did I do something? Am I some kind of wanted criminal? Tell me. Did I do something?"  
"Yes!" Max shouted.   
Tess became silent from his outburst.  
"You want me to tell you?" he said. "I'll tell you what you did." 


	6. The Truth Comes Out

THE TRUTH COMES OUT  
Liz walked over to the counter and refilled Sean's drink. "Any plans today?"  
"What? Don't you like me hanging out here?" he said smiling.  
"I'm not trying to kick you out," she said. "I was just asking a question."  
"Well, to answer your question, I don't have any plans today." He looked at her. "Do you?"  
Liz felt her cheeks grow warm. "I'm pretty much stuck here all day."  
"Come on, your dad owns the Crashdown," Sean said. "You can leave early, right?"  
"Maria's not coming in for awhile and I don't want to leave my dad alone."  
"Okay," he said, "so that means I'm stuck here all day too."  
*  
"Have you seen Max today?" Isabel asked Michael as they walked into his apartment. "It feels like I haven't talked to him in years."  
"Same here," Michael said. He went into his kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"  
"No, thanks." Isabel sat down on the couch. "Do you think anything's wrong with Max?"  
Michael joined her on the couch. "Do you really me to answer that?"   
"Michael, I'm trying to be serious," she said. "Ever since Tess left, I'm been getting this weird vibe from him."  
"Really?" Michael took a drink from his glass. "Maria told me that Liz's worried about him too."  
"What did she say?"  
He shrugged. "You know, Max is distancing himself, shutting down. I can understand him though." He paused. "It's been almost a month since Tess left, we're all still trying to recover from what she did to us."  
*  
Max had made sure Brody had left for the day when he bought Tess out to the main room. They sat down on a bench and there was where Max had told her everything.  
"I killed someone." A teardrop slid down her cheek. "I'm a murderer?" She wiped the tear away. "Are the police looking for me or something? Is that why it's unsafe for me to leave?"  
Max thought of Liz and Maria, of Isabel and Michael. "It's not the police you should be worried about."  
"I want out," Tess said. "I don't care if there's a warrant out there for me, I need to get out." She stood up. "Are you going to let me go?"  
Max stood up with her. "I can't do that."  
"Why do you keep doing this to me?" She pushed passed him, but Max grabbed on to her. "Let me go!" She felt a burning sensation flowing through her body and Max suddenly went flying across the room. "What the hell?" The burning was increasing.  
Max slowly got up on his feet.  
Tess stared at him. "You didn't tell me everything, did you?" 


	7. All Night Long

ALL NIGHT LONG "You didn't have to stay here all night with me," Liz said to Sean as they walked out of the Crashdown. "Was I that entertaining at cleaning tables and taking orders?" Sean smiled. "Compared to Maria, I think so." Liz smiled back as she looked around. "So, are you waiting to take Maria home?" "No," he said. "She's getting a ride with Michael." "Oh. Then, what are you still doing here?" Liz asked, even though she already knew the answer. "Your shift's over," he said, reaching for her hand. "You can't give me anymore excuses." His hand grabbed onto Liz's and held on tight. Liz followed him to his car. * She was waiting. Max turned to face her, unsure on where to start. "We're different, Tess." "What do you mean?" she asked. "We're aliens," he said, "but we're human too. Hybrids, to be more exact. Our ship crashed here in Roswell. We have powers. That's what happened when you threw me across the room, how I got out of those ropes. We're not alone. There are two more of us here." He looked at her shocked expression and continued. "But, there are others out there called the Skins. They work for Kivar, our enemy from our home planet, Antar. You left on a ship to go back to Antar not more than a month ago. You had betrayed us by killing Alex and by letting us know about the pact that you were going to hand us over to Kivar to be killed when we got back to Antar." He paused again. "Any questions?" Tess closed her eyes, soaking in all the information. She opened them back up. "Yes." She took in a deep breath. "Do you expect me to believe that?" * "What are we doing here?" Liz sat down on Sean's car hood. "There's not much to see, you know." Sean had driven them into the middle of the desert. "Sure there is." Sean sat down next to her. "Look up there." He pointed to the sky. Liz followed his eyes to the many stars in the dark sky and the bright moon shining over them. "Isn't it beautiful?" "Yeah, it is," Sean said softly. She turned to him and saw that he was looking at her. He started to move closer, leaning forward to kiss her. "Sean." But she didn't protest when his lips found hers. * Max looked up to the stars in the sky as he got ready for bed. His head was pounding from his conversation with Tess. She hadn't believed him. He wasn't going to try to make her. It was enough that he had told her the truth. He had left her in the UFO Center once again. She said she wanted to time to think. Alone. Max took that chance to leave. "Hey." Isabel was standing in his doorway. "Can we talk?" He nodded as he sat down on his bed. "I'm worried about you, Max," she said. "Is there something going on?" "I'm fine, Isabel." "See, that's why I'm worried. When you say that, it usually means something is wrong." "Nothing's wrong," he said. Isabel looked sympathetically at him. "You can come talk to me whenever you want, okay?" She left his room. Max laid down on his bed and sighed. "Nothing's wrong," he said again.  
  
* Jim turned off the television set and put down his beer. It was another long night of doing nothing. Kyle was asleep in his room and Jim was on his way to his own room. He picked up his beer and walked into the kitchen. He poured the rest of the drink out in the sink and proceeded to toss the can away when his mouth dropped open and his legs stopped moving. Outside his kitchen window, he saw her. Tess was back. She was walking around aimlessly in the middle of the night. The first thought that came into his mind was that she might be cold because she wasn't wearing a coat. He opened the back door and walked outside. "Tess?" he called out. "Tess?" She turned to him. Her blue eyes looked at him curiously. "Do I know you?" "It's me, Jim," he said. "Jim Valenti, Kyle's father." "Kyle?" she said. Her eyes seemed even more confused. "Come with me." He extended his hand to her. "Lets go inside." "I don't know you," she said backing away slowly. "But then again, I don't know anyone.except for Max." "Max? Has Max seen you?" he asked. "He's been hiding me," she said. "He told me there were people after me. I'm a bad person. I killed someone." She held back her tears. "Did he tell you that?" Jim said. "I don't know what he's telling me," she said. "He told me I was an alien and that I have these powers. I don't believe him." "But you believed him when he said that you were a killer?" She nodded. "Why else would I have had lost my memory? Something bad happened to me because I did something bad." "Tess, please come with me." His hand was still waiting for hers. "Come inside." "Can you help me?" she asked softly. "I'll try my best," he said. Tess glanced up at him. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust him. She took his hand and let him put his arm around her shoulders. 


	8. Giving In

GIVING IN Max walked into the UFO Center and frowned when he saw Brody with two police officers. "What's going on?" "Someone broke a window," Brody said. "I came in this morning and there was glass everywhere." "Was it a robbery?" Max asked. Brody shook his head. "Nothing was taken." Max made his way to the storage room. "Tess?" He looked around, knowing that she wasn't there. The empty room proved him right. * "So, anything exciting happen last night?" Maria asked Liz as they worked.  
  
Liz grinned. "What do you mean?" "Oh, I don't know," Maria said, "Maybe something is going on between someone's cousin and best friend, you tell me." "I have no idea what you're talking about, Maria." Liz went around to refill drinks. "Why? Did someone say something?" Maria winked at her. "Don't worry. Sean didn't say anything to me. I can just sense these things." "Is that right?" Liz said. "When it comes to these kind of things, Liz, I'm never wrong." * Kyle walked into the living room and nearly jumped through the roof. Sleeping on the couch was Tess. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. She was still there. "Kyle." His father was standing behind him. "I think you have to sit down for this." "I'm fine standing, Dad." Kyle sat down in the recliner. "What's going on?" "I found her last night," Jim said. "She was walking around outside. Kyle, she doesn't know who she is. She doesn't have any of her memories." "She's an amnesiac?" Jim nodded. "She's been here for a few days, I think." "Where was she before you found her?" "At the UFO Center." "Does anyone else know she's back?" Kyle said looking over at her. "She said she met Max." "Max knew she was back and he didn't say anything to us?" "It's a different situation, Kyle," Jim said. "Tess has no idea who she is or what she's done." "That doesn't apply to us. We know who she is and what she did." "Kyle, I'm trying to make you understand what's going on here," Jim said. "We have someone here who has no identity, no memories of their life, or in this case, their lives. I told her I would help her. Do you want to do that too?" Tess moved on the couch. She opened her eyes and looked at the two men. Kyle found himself smiling at the sight of Tess being awake. "Hi, Tess." She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "Are you Kyle?" * Jim found Max leaving the UFO Center later that day. "Max, I need to talk to you." "I'm in a hurry," he said. "It's about Tess." Max stopped and turned to him. "Is she with you?" Jim took him to his house, where Tess was watching a football game on TV with Kyle. She was laughing and enjoying herself as she ate potato chips and yelled at the television set even though she had no idea what was going on. She heard the door close and looked up to see Jim and Max. "Max." She stood up and looked at Jim. "I don't want him here." "He's here to help too, Tess," Jim said. "He locked me away," Tess said. "How is that helping me?" "I was trying to protect you," Max said. "You were preventing me from knowing the truth," Tess said. "I told you the truth," Max said. "I refuse to believe in your lies," she said. "They're not lies," Jim said. She looked at him. "What?" "Max's telling you the truth," Jim said. "He's been telling you the truth all along." 


	9. Trusting

TRUSTING "Do you think you could ever forgive her?" Isabel looked up at Alex, shocked that he would even ask her that question. She placed her hand on his headstone. "She killed you. How can I forgive her?" "I'm not asking you if you would ever forgive her," he said, "but if you could forgive her?" "There's a difference?" Isabel watched as he knelt down beside her. She felt comforted knowing that he was by her side. "There is, Isabel," he said. "Have you forgiven her?" she asked. "You know I can't answer that," Alex said. "It's not up to me to forgive anyone." She looked over at him, finally realizing what he was trying to tell her. "It's up to us." "Isabel?" Kyle was walking towards her. She turned to him. "Oh, hey." She looked back to Alex, but he was gone. "What's going on?" she asked Kyle. "Max told me you might be here," he said. "He wants you to come over to our place." "Is everything all right?" He shrugged. "Depends." * Michael was already there when Isabel and Kyle walked in. Isabel's eyes went directly to the couch where Tess sat. "What is she doing here?" "Calm down, Isabel," Max said. "She doesn't know what's going on." "What?" Isabel said. "I don't know who I am," Tess said. "She's lying, Max," Isabel said. "That's what I said," Michael said, "but it seems like Maxwell here won't stop defending her." "Tell me that's not true," Isabel said to Max. "You actually believe her?" "I believe her too," Kyle said. "So does my dad." Isabel crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I can't believe this is happening." She looked at Max. "What happened?" "I found her in the UFO Center a couple of days ago," Max said. "I was hiding her there until she broke out and then Jim found her." "You've known she was back and you didn't tell us?" Isabel said angrily. "I knew you would be upset," Max said. "Upset?" Isabel said. "More like mad as hell! God, Max, we can't trust her!" "But, she trusts us!" Max said. "Max," Kyle said suddenly. "She's gone." They all turned to the empty couch. * Tess didn't want to hear them yelling anymore. She had left though the back door and she didn't care where she was going or who saw her. She just had to get away. She wrapped her arms around herself. She didn't want to face the fact that she was an alien, that she had killed someone, that wasn't wanted. "Tess." Max ran up behind her. "Tess, stop." She turned to face him. "It hurts, trying to remember. You didn't tell me it was going to hurt." "You didn't tell me either," he said. 


	10. Surprise

SURPRISE Liz saw Sean walk in and take a seat in the back booth. She went over him with her order pad. "What can I get you to drink?" "How about a root beer float?" he said. "We don't have those here," she said. "Well, I know of a great place that makes the best floats in town," Sean said with a smile. "Care to join me?" "Sean." "It's just a root beer float," he said. Liz nodded. "Sure." She went back to the counter. "It's just a root beer float," she said to herself.  
  
* "So we can't tell Liz or Maria?" Kyle said to Max and Michael as they sat in his living room. "No," Max said. "They're probably going to have a lot of questions and we don't have any answers yet." "I have a couple of questions, Max," Michael said. "When am I going to get my answers?" Max looked sternly at him. "When I get mine." * Tess found Isabel sitting alone in the kitchen. She clasped her hands together nervously. "I'm sorry." Isabel looked up at her. "What?" "Max told me about Alex," Tess said. "I don't remember what I did exactly, but I'm sorry." Isabel felt the tears in her eyes. "I'll tell you what you did. You abused your powers and violated an innocent person's mind for your own purposes. You weakened him so badly that he died. You killed him." Tess tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I know." She tried to pick her words carefully. "I know I caused a lot of people pain, but all I'm asking is do you think you could ever forgive me?" "I'm not asking you if you would ever forgive her," Alex had said, "but if you could forgive her?" Isabel wiped away a tear. "I could." She stood up. "But I'm not going to." She walked out of the kitchen. * Sean walked Liz back home after getting their root beer floats. "Thanks for coming with me," he said. "Thanks for inviting me." She looked at her front door. "I should get going." "Night," he said. She watched him go and then searched for her keys inside her bag. "Liz?" She turned around and gasped. It was Tess. No. This wasn't Tess. Liz remembered her fishnet stockings and mini-skirt. Her purple hair was now pink. But her eyes. That was what she and Tess had in common. Those big blue eyes. "Ava?"  
  
END OF PART ONE 


End file.
